Diaphragm pump system and detection method thereof
Technical Field
The present invention relates to the field of microfluidic pumping, and more particularly, to a diaphragm pump system having a detection function and a detection method thereof, by which a malfunction such as a blockage, leakage, bubble, etc. of a diaphragm pump can be detected.
Background
MEMS are an organic combination of microelectronics and mechanical engineering, in particular high-tech devices on the order of a few millimeters or even a micrometer in size. In the field of microfluidic pumping, micropumps are mainly used for the delivery of medical solvents, whereas traditional gear pumps occupy the vast majority of proportions. Compared with the traditional micropump, the MEMS micro diaphragm pump has the remarkable advantages of high pumping precision, high reliability, low cost, small volume and the like.
Detection of functional abnormalities in medical devices is extremely important, as the life health of a patient depends on the correct functioning of the medical device. For example, in the field of microfluidic pumping, blockage or leakage can lead to insufficient infusion of a drug into a patient, which in turn can affect patient health and even endanger patient life. Most of the functional anomalies of the micropump can be analyzed by the flow rate and flow rate changes generated by pumping. Thus, the flow sensor can quantitatively detect and analyze the functional abnormality of the micropump and can be regulated and controlled by the microcontroller.
In the related art, a gear pump system with a silicon pressure sensor: gear pumps are rotary pumps that rely on the change and movement of working volume created between a pump cylinder and an intermeshing gear to deliver or pressurize a liquid. When the gear rotates, the volume of the space on the gear disengaging side becomes larger from small, vacuum is formed, liquid is sucked in, the volume of the space on the gear engaging side becomes smaller from large, and liquid is squeezed into the pipeline. The suction chamber is separated from the discharge chamber by the meshing line of the two gears. Gear pumps typically use two separate silicon pressure sensors for quantitative detection of functional anomalies, sending the detection signal increases the complexity of the wiring, which may create signal interference. In addition, a typical diaphragm pump employs a combination of two silicon pressure sensors and a temperature sensor to detect anomalies in the pumping line. However, existing pumping pumps are relatively bulky, typically 2-4 times that of diaphragm pumps; the cost of the gear pump or the silicon pressure sensor is high, and an additional motor is needed for driving, so that the cost is further increased; the modules are numerous, and the structure is complex; the integrated design has higher cost. Accordingly, there is a need to provide a diaphragm pump system that is low cost, small in volume, and capable of quantitatively analyzing functional anomalies.
Disclosure of Invention
In order to solve the problems, the invention provides a membrane pump system capable of quantitatively analyzing abnormal functions, which comprises a membrane pump, a flow sensor detachably connected with the membrane pump, and a microcontroller connected with the membrane pump and the flow sensor, wherein
The diaphragm pump is used for pumping fluid, and comprises a pumping chamber with variable volume, a brake arranged above the pumping chamber, an inlet which is communicated with the pumping chamber and provided with an inlet valve, and an outlet which is communicated with the pumping chamber and provided with an outlet valve, wherein the inlet is communicated with an inlet pipeline, and the outlet is communicated with an outlet pipeline;
the flow sensor comprises a heating element, a first temperature sensing element and a second temperature sensing element which are positioned at two sides of the heating element, and is used for detecting the functional state of the diaphragm pump;
and the microcontroller regulates and controls the diaphragm pump according to the functional state of the diaphragm pump output by the flow sensor.
Preferably, the flow sensor is provided in a plug-in manner on the wall of the outlet conduit.
Preferably, the inlet valve, the outlet valve and the brake are all movable parts, the brake changing the volume of the pumping chamber by means of piezoelectric braking.
Preferably, the flow sensor further comprises a substrate, a first protective layer and a second protective layer, wherein the first protective layer and the second protective layer are arranged on the substrate, a heating element, and a first temperature sensing element and a second temperature sensing element which are symmetrically arranged on two sides of the heating element are arranged on the second protective layer, and the first temperature sensing element and the second temperature sensing element are used for measuring the temperature of fluid so as to obtain the flow rate of the fluid.
Preferably, the flow sensor is thermopile or thermal resistor, and/or the microcontroller uses a single chip system.
Preferably, the microcontroller is capable of increasing or decreasing the pumping frequency of the diaphragm pump, and issuing an alarm to regulate the diaphragm pump.
The invention also provides a detection method for the diaphragm pump system, which comprises the following steps:
the diaphragm pump begins pumping fluid;
the flow sensor detects whether the diaphragm pump has abnormal functions and outputs signals;
the microcontroller analyzes the output signal;
the microcontroller regulates and controls the diaphragm pump according to the signals so that the diaphragm pump works normally;
the diaphragm pump system comprises a diaphragm pump, a flow sensor detachably connected with the diaphragm pump, and a microcontroller connected with the diaphragm pump and the flow sensor, wherein
The diaphragm pump is used for pumping fluid, and comprises a pumping chamber with variable volume, a brake arranged above the pumping chamber, an inlet which is communicated with the pumping chamber and provided with an inlet valve, and an outlet which is communicated with the pumping chamber and provided with an outlet valve, wherein the inlet is communicated with an inlet pipeline, and the outlet is communicated with an outlet pipeline;
the flow sensor comprises a heating element, a first temperature sensing element and a second temperature sensing element, wherein the first temperature sensing element and the second temperature sensing element are positioned on two sides of the heating element, and the flow sensor is used for detecting the functional state of the diaphragm pump.
Preferably, the flow sensor is provided in a plug-in manner on the wall of the outlet conduit.
Preferably, the microcontroller is capable of increasing or decreasing the pumping frequency of the diaphragm pump, and issuing an alarm to regulate the diaphragm pump.
Preferably, the actuator changes the volume of the pumping chamber by means of piezoelectric braking.
The invention has the beneficial effects that:
compared with the prior art, the diaphragm pump system has the advantages that the diaphragm pump and the flow sensor are detachably connected, the structure is simple, the manufacturing process is simple, the volume is small, the cost is low, the pumping precision is improved, and the reliability is also improved. In addition, the detection method for the diaphragm pump system improves pumping precision and reliability. In particular, the conventional gear pump and diaphragm pump require at least two silicon pressure sensors to transmit the detection signal, increasing the complexity of wiring, and possibly creating signal interference, whereas the detection of anomalies by the present invention is accomplished with only one flow sensor, i.e., the detection signal is transmitted from the flow sensor to the microcontroller only, and thus there is no interference of other signals. In addition, the distance between the two silicon pressure sensors of the traditional gear pump and the diaphragm pump is far, and the two silicon pressure sensors are generally one monitoring pumping inlet and one monitoring pumping outlet, which are possibly affected by different temperatures, so that an additional temperature sensor is needed for temperature compensation, the detection precision is intangibly reduced, and the distance between the two temperature sensing elements of the flow sensor adopted by the invention is very small and is almost the same as the influence of the temperature of fluid, thus having the temperature compensation effect.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a diaphragm pump system of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the structure of the diaphragm pump of the present invention.
Fig. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a flow sensor according to the present invention.
Fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the structure of the diaphragm pump and flow sensor of the present invention.
Fig. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the structure of the outlet pipe of the diaphragm pump of the present invention.
Fig. 6 is a graph of flow rate profile over a pumping cycle of the present invention.
Fig. 7 is a flow chart of a detection method for the diaphragm pump system of the present invention.
Detailed Description
The following detailed description of specific embodiments of the invention is provided in connection with the accompanying drawings and examples in order to provide a better understanding of the aspects of the invention and advantages thereof. However, the following description of specific embodiments and examples is for illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention.
Example 1
As shown in fig. 1, the present invention provides a diaphragm pump system combined with a diaphragm pump and a flow sensor, the diaphragm pump system comprising a diaphragm pump 1, a flow sensor 2 detachably connected to the diaphragm pump 1, a microcontroller 3 connected to the diaphragm pump 1 and the flow sensor 2, the diaphragm pump 1 system for pumping a fluid, wherein the diaphragm pump 1 comprises a pumping chamber 11 of variable volume, the diaphragm pump 1 is a MEMS diaphragm pump manufactured by a MEMS manufacturing process; the flow sensor 2 is for detecting a functional abnormality such as clogging, leakage, bubbles, etc. of the diaphragm pump 1 and outputting a normal signal or an abnormal signal; the microcontroller 3 is used for analyzing normal signals and abnormal signals and control of the pumping frequency or other aspects of the diaphragm pump 1. The fluid may be a liquid or a gas, and further, the fluid may be water, a medical agent, or the like. In addition, the microcontroller 3 comprises peripheral circuitry (not shown) for use therewith.
As shown in fig. 2, the diaphragm pump 1 includes a first structural layer 11, a second structural layer 12 and a third structural layer 13 located on both upper and lower sides of the first structural layer 11, specifically, the first structural layer 11, the second structural layer 12 and the third structural layer 13 form a pumping chamber 14 having a variable volume, the diaphragm pump 1 further includes a stopper 15 located above the pumping chamber 14, an inlet 16 communicating with the pumping chamber 14 and having an inlet valve 161, and an outlet 17 communicating with the pumping chamber 14 and having an outlet valve 171, wherein the stopper 15 is capable of changing the volume of the pumping chamber 14 so that the volume of the pumping chamber 14 is changed in the range of 5nL to 20 uL; the pumping chamber 14 also includes an inlet conduit 162 in communication with the inlet 16 and an outlet conduit 172 in communication with the outlet 17.
In the present embodiment, the first structural layer 11 is a silicon layer with a thickness of 30nm-300 μm, the second structural layer 12 and the third structural layer 13 are both glass layers with a thickness of 30nm-50 μm, wherein the first structural layer 11 is wrapped between the second structural layer 12 and the third structural layer 13, i.e. two glass layers; the inlet valve 161, the outlet valve 171, and the actuator 15 are movable members, wherein the inlet valve 161 and the outlet valve 171 can open or close the pumping chamber 14 in an opening/closing manner, and the actuator 15 controls the volume of the pumping chamber 14 in a piezoelectric braking manner.
Principle of operation of diaphragm pump 1
When alternating current is applied to the brake 15, the brake 15 expands and contracts in the radial direction according to the frequency of the alternating current under the action of an electric field, when the brake 15 is bent upward, the pumping chamber 14 becomes larger in volume, the pressure decreases, the inlet valve 161 is opened, the outlet valve 171 is kept closed, liquid enters the pumping chamber 14 from the inlet valve 161, and when the pressure of the pumping chamber 14 is restored to be the same as the pressure of the inlet pipe 162, the inlet 16 valve is automatically closed. When the actuator 15 is bent downwards, the pumping chamber 14 becomes smaller in volume and larger in pressure, the outlet 17 valve is opened, the inlet valve 161 remains closed, liquid flows out of the pumping chamber 14 from the outlet valve 171, and when the pumping chamber 14 returns to the same pressure as the outlet pipe 172, the outlet valve 171 is automatically closed.
In the present embodiment, the flow sensor 2 is a MEMS thermal flow sensor, and the flow sensor 2 measures a flow rate based on a thermal principle, and may be a thermopile or a thermal resistor; the microcontroller 3 uses a single-chip microcomputer system.
Fig. 3 schematically shows a structural section of the flow sensor 2. As shown in fig. 3, the flow sensor 2 includes a substrate 21, a first protective layer 22 and a second protective layer 23 disposed over the substrate 21, a heating element 24 disposed on the second protective layer 23, and a first temperature sensing element 25 and a second temperature sensing element 26 symmetrically disposed on both sides of the heating element 24, wherein the first temperature sensing element 25 and the second temperature sensing element 26 are used for measuring the temperature of a fluid to obtain the flow rate of the fluid. Further, the thickness of the first protective layer 22 is 0.01 μm to 10 μm; the thickness of the second protective layer 23 is 0.01 μm to 10 μm.
Principle of operation of flow sensor 2
When the heating element 24 is heated, the thermal field is uniformly distributed over the heating element 24, so that the temperatures on the first temperature sensing element 25 and the second temperature sensing element 26 are the same. If fluid flows from left to right or from right to left (i.e. from left to right or from right to left in fig. 3), the thermal field balance will be broken, and the fluid will take away part of the heat to cause a temperature difference between the first temperature sensing element 25 and the second temperature sensing element 26, and a specific flow rate can be obtained by measuring the temperature difference.
Fig. 4 schematically shows a structural section of a combination of a diaphragm pump 1 and a flow sensor 2 in a diaphragm pump system. As shown in fig. 4, in the diaphragm pump 1, a detachable flow sensor 2 is provided on the side of the wall of the outlet pipe 172 near the inlet 16, and the flow sensor 2 is capable of detecting a change in the flow rate of the fluid pumped from the pumping chamber 14. Fig. 5 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the outlet conduit 172 of the diaphragm pump 1, it being understood from fig. 5 that the flow sensor 2 is arranged in a detachable and insertable manner in the outlet conduit 172 of the diaphragm pump 1. The above is for illustration only, but is not limited thereto, and the flow sensor 2 may also be disposed on a side of the wall of the outlet conduit 172 remote from the inlet 16 or at other desired locations.
Fig. 6 is a graph of a typical flow rate profile over a pumping cycle. In FIG. 6, at t 1 When the brake 15 is bent downwards, the pressure in the pumping chamber 14 suddenly increases, the pumping chamber is drained to the outlet 17, the flow rate rapidly increases, the pressure in the pumping chamber 14 is reduced, and the flow rate begins to decrease until t 2 The flow rate becomes 0. At t 3 When the actuator 15 is bent upwards, fluid enters the pumping chamber 14, at which time no fluid flows through the flow sensor 2 and the flow rate is 0.
The microcontroller 3, through analysis of the signal output by the flow sensor 2, can perform measures such as increasing or decreasing the pumping frequency of the diaphragm pump 1 and raising an alarm (especially in case of severe blockage, damage to the flow meter, etc.) to regulate the diaphragm pump 1. In summary, the flow sensor 2 can quantitatively detect the flow of the fluid pumped by the diaphragm pump 1, analyze the abnormal function of the diaphragm pump 1, and regulate and control the diaphragm pump 1 by the microcontroller 3.
Example 2
Referring to fig. 4 and 7, the present invention also provides a method for detecting a malfunction of the diaphragm pump system in embodiment 1, the method comprising the steps of:
the diaphragm pump 1 starts pumping fluid such as medicine, and the volume of the pumping chamber 14 is increased by the upward bending of the stopper 15, the pressure is reduced, the inlet valve 161 is opened, the fluid enters the pumping chamber 14 from the inlet 16, and when the pressure of the pumping chamber 14 is restored to be equal to the pressure of the inlet pipe 162, the inlet valve 161 is automatically closed. By bending the actuator 15 downwards the volume of the pumping chamber 14 becomes smaller, the pressure becomes larger, the outlet valve 171 is opened and the inlet valve 161 remains closed, fluid flows out of the pumping chamber 14 from the outlet 17 and into the inlet conduit 172, the fluid passes the flow sensor 2 and the detection step.
The flow sensor 2 detects whether or not there is a malfunction such as clogging, leakage, bubbles, or the like of the diaphragm pump 1, and outputs a normal signal or an abnormal signal. Wherein the first temperature sensing element 25 and the second temperature sensing element 26 are used for measuring the temperature of the fluid to obtain the flow velocity of the fluid by the temperature of the fluid measured by the temperature sensor t 2 And t 1 A series of data such as time difference, maximum flow rate value, rate of rise and fall of flow rate (slope), total flow obtained by integrating flow rate, etc., thereby detecting functional difference of the diaphragm pump systemOften times. For example, when the diaphragm pump 1 encounters a slight blockage, the total flow rate is substantially unchanged but the maximum flow rate value slightly increases because the water flow pressure increases, and the rates of flow rate rise and fall become greater. As another example, when the diaphragm pump 1 encounters a slight leak, the total flow rate decreases, the maximum flow rate value decreases, and the rates of flow rate increase and decrease become smaller.
The microcontroller 3 analyzes the normal signal or the abnormal signal outputted from the flow sensor 2. If a normal signal, the diaphragm pump continues to pump fluid. In case of an abnormal signal, measures such as increasing or decreasing the pumping frequency of the membrane pump 1, raising an alarm (especially in case of severe blockage, damage to the flow meter) etc. are performed on the membrane pump 1 to achieve a regulation of the membrane pump 1, thereby ensuring a normal operation of the membrane pump system.
Compared with the prior art, the diaphragm pump system has the advantages that the diaphragm pump and the flow sensor are detachably connected, the structure is simple, the manufacturing process is simple, the volume is small, the cost is low, the pumping precision is improved, and the reliability is also improved. In addition, the detection method for the diaphragm pump system improves pumping precision and reliability. In particular, the conventional gear pump and diaphragm pump require at least two silicon pressure sensors to transmit the detection signal, increasing the complexity of wiring, and possibly creating signal interference, whereas the detection of anomalies by the present invention is accomplished with only one flow sensor, i.e., the detection signal is transmitted from the flow sensor to the microcontroller only, and thus there is no interference of other signals. In addition, the distance between the two silicon pressure sensors of the traditional gear pump and the diaphragm pump is far, and the two silicon pressure sensors are generally one monitoring pumping inlet and one monitoring pumping outlet, which are possibly affected by different temperatures, so that an additional temperature sensor is needed for temperature compensation, the detection precision is intangibly reduced, and the distance between the two temperature sensing elements of the flow sensor adopted by the invention is very small and is almost the same as the influence of the temperature of fluid, thus having the temperature compensation effect.
The foregoing is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any changes or substitutions easily contemplated by those skilled in the art within the technical scope of the present invention should be covered by the scope of the present invention.